Jeremy Bates Doesn't Need the Bears

So D-Day came and went at Halas Hall earlier this week. As expected all along, Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo kept their jobs; everyone else got fired. "Bandage over a gunshot wound" seems like a fitting metaphor here.

I could complain all day about how wrongheaded the McCaskey family is, how cheap they are, how backwards their logic often seems. This isn't a Bulls-like move (lest we forget: John Paxson hired VDN and got a promotion), but it's close.

Still, I'll halt my bitching now before we get any further. My pleas for righteousness won't get us anywhere, so let's just move on. The Bears are anti-progressive, and that's just a truth we'll have to deal with.

The more important matter: who's to coach this offense in 2010? And no, it's almost certainly not "2010 and beyond". This is a probably a one year gig. 

I think the brevity of the situation is vital here. It's why I don't think I'm ready to hop aboard the Jeremy Bates bandwagon like everyone else.

If you're not familiar with Bates, here 's the lowdown. He worked with Cutler in Denver, and Cutler loved him. After Mike Shanahan got axed, Bates left too, and apparently this was step one in Cutler becoming a Bear. Bates ran the USC offense last season, and now he's rumored to be in the hunt to get the Bears' OC job.

For the record, I am all for giving Cutler whatever he wants. Cutler lobbied for Aromashodu - or, excuse me, AH-ROMAshodu! (imagine Adam Sandler, circa 1994, saying it) - as far back as training camp, and that seemed to work out pretty well.

Here's the mistake we as fans made with Cutler: we all thought he was the final piece to the puzzle, but really, he was just the first. As such, the Bears should build with him in mind, seeing as that's all they have.

I still have mixed feelings on Bates, though.

Before they hire their next offensive coordinator, the Bears must decide if Bates is viewed as desirable because he's football's Next Great Offensive Mind or because Jay Cutler likes him.

If he's the former, I'm not sure why Bates would want this job in the first place. He's still employed by USC, a very warm and surely pleasant place to live, especially when he's tutoring a kid most believe to be a surefire No. 1 draft pick.

It's not like Bates' stock is likely to drop. Yes, there are only so many offensive coordinator jobs in the NFL to go around, but would he really want one that will probably only last a year?

See, this is why Smith and Angelo needed to be fired: the Bears still suck. Don't let that shiny 7-9 record fool you. This is a 3-13 caliber team, whether their record proves it or not. They won't be much better next season, and their record should be much worse. The Browns aren't on the 2010 schedule, and neither are the Rams. The Bears are going to be facing a steady decrease in cupcakes next season, and cupcakes were all they conquered in 2009. Without drafts picks in the first two rounds, and with everyone wary to sign free agents without a collective bargaining agreement in place, the Bears will continue to be awful next season. I am almost sure of this.

So this is what will happen, and, yes, it's the worst thing possible: 2010 will be a waste, and a waste of a season prime season from Cutler. In 2011, the Bears will start fresh, and Cutler will be learning his fourth offense in four years. Seeing as most offenses struggle in their first season with a new scheme anyway, the Bears may not be competent until 2012. By then, Cutler will be 29, assuming we haven't burned him at the stake already.

The Bears might need Jeremy Bates, but Jeremy Bates doesn't need the Bears. Just hire a castoff - I honestly can't think of anyone more perfect for this situation than Mike Martz - and let's get it over with already.

The journey to 2012 marches on.